Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was busted scrawling cringe notes to himself during a Cabinet meeting.
The gathering was the usual circus, with President Donald Trump confusing Iran with Venezuela, threatening to blow up allies, saying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “loves” war, and trying to sell his garish “USA 250 Anniversary” caps, whose flags feature only 48 stars.
As the madness unfolded, Trump’s fiscal flunky was busy scribbling self-affirmations and pointers on headed White House paper. “Resilience,” he wrote atop the page, underlining the word.
“Resilience” is clearly a buzzword that has been workshopped by the White House of late, intended to mask the economic turmoil created by Trump’s war in Iran.
When asked for comment on Wednesday after the European Central Bank warned that the president could be steering the country to a financial crisis, spokesperson Kush Desai told the Daily Beast in part, “The American economy has been resilient under President Trump because his economic agenda has a proven track record.”
Among Bessent’s other notes was the codename “Operation Economic Fury,” a play on the name for the U.S.-Israeli mission in Iran, Operation Epic Fury. “Economic Fury” is the name the Treasury gives to economic sanctions imposed on Iran. Bessent clearly sees this as important, as he scribbled an upward arrow next to it.
In brackets, he jotted “Just in time. Just in case,” and put a tick next to it. This may well be a personal affirmation for Bessent concerning timing and prudence.
He is certainly focused on fortitude, as he ended his writing session with “resilience” again, followed by “prosperity” and something difficult to make out, which looked like the word “sow.”
When he’s not practicing his handwriting, Bessent is likely to be found praising Trump, according to a new qualitative analysis by The New York Times. He ranks second in sucking up after the praise-mad Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
One of the most fawning examples of his praise for Trump was when he credited the MAGA leader with having “saved this country by making it the best place in the world to do business again.”
Bessent, who served as an economic adviser, fundraiser, and major donor for the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign before being nominated as his fiscal frontman, tends to flatter Trump rather than criticize opponents.
